On 6th May my colleagues Jill Watson and Nicola Penny are running the 5k ”Race for Life” in Battersea Park.
They are raising money for Cancer Research UK. If you are able, please donate – Jill is an experienced runner but Nicola is braving blisters for her first ever run. The link is below;
http://www.raceforlifesponsorme.org/jillandnicola
In July to prove what a fit lot the firm is we will be sending out a team on the Chase Challenge here in the City. More on that later on.
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And whilst there may well be music and moonlight and love and romance somewhere, HR bods and employment lawyers probably won’t be looking forward to facing the music (or dancing for that matter) when it comes to dealing with the Employment Act 2008. It comes into force (or should that be farce?) on the 6th April and repeals the hugely criticised Employment Act 2002. In fact, there definitely will be trouble ahead.
A report in The Guardian earlier this week highlighted again the risk to employees in lying or covering up information on job application forms. Cheltenham Borough Council is suing its former managing director, Christine Laird, in the High Court because she allegedly failed to tell them that she had a history of depression when she took the job. In this instance Ms Laird disputes her liability and is fighting the claim.
There was reported this week a case from the European Court of Justice that will have employers and Europhobes going mad. A case called Ainsworth v HMRC (which was actually five conjoined cases) made its way through the English courts to the House of Lords, who referred it to the ECJ. The case (which has now changed its name to Stringer v HMRC, why I don’t know) centres on an interpretation of the Working Time Regulation and the difficult question of whether a person on long term sick leave accrues holiday (and thus the right o be paid for holiday) whilst off sick. In all these cases the employees had used up all their entitlement to sick pay.
This is a copy of an article I wrote for the Docklands and Peninsula newspaper – unedited. It will appear in the week commencing Jan 19th.
Jobsworth is back from its short Festive break, feeling slightly less stressed, albeit somewhat lighter following a nasty gastric bug. The New Year stretches interminably away into the future and the current economic climate doesn’t look like improving anytime soon. Whilst I’m getting back to speed, it is a good chance to remember the long-forgotten ritual of Plough Monday, which was celebrated from pre-industrial until Victorian times on the first Monday after Epiphany – which is January 5th this year.
Please do feel free to leave comments here – feedback is always useful. What I would like to happen, if possible, is for people to write about their experiences with employment law issues or, indeed, employment lawyers for that matter. I’m not seeking to give individual advice via this blog but it would be great to create a “community” where people can swap stories from the ”coal face”. If in doubt don’t put names or identifying remarks in and please don’t libel anyone!
Looking forward to hearing from you.
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May I wish all readers of this blog all good wishes for Christmas and the New Year? I will be adding additional posts over the festive period, depending on how bored I become with eating, drinking and watching TV.
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Now that Christmas is in three weeks time it seems appropriate to repeat my annual warnings about the perils of enjoying the office Christmas party too much (assuming, of course, that your employer is still holding one).
This is a preview of
Beware Festive Cheer (or what not to do at the Office Christmas Party)
.
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In all the time I have been writing this column I don’t recall ever having to type ”the law is an ass” before. That’s the first time and the reason is because of a case heard by the Employment Appeal Tribunal reported this week.
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